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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: foot · wax · fan · bat · bark · roll · mug · scale

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. mug — a cup
  3. mug — a face
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. roll — a cake
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. mug — to rob
  15. bark — to shout
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bat — the animal
  19. foot — a measure
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. wax — to grow
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. roll — a list

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com